Riverdale's Shacobia Barbee 'thrives in big moments'

Riverdale star just puts team on her back

Apr. 7, 2012

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Written by

Maurice Patton

The Tennessean

Riverdale’s Shacobia Barbee led her team to a state title and is a three-time Tennessean Midstate player of the year. / JAE S. LEE / THE TENNESSEAN

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The much-anticipated girls basketball game between top-10 nationally ranked Riverdale and Clarksville never materialized.

The game would have matched Georgia signee Shacobia Barbee and Tennessee signee Bashaara Graves. But Clarksville lost in the Class AAA semifinals and missed a chance to play Riverdale in the final.

They were clearly the top girls basketball players in the area this season, but picking one for player of the year was not easy.

Barbee was named Class AAA Miss Basketball and said she thought Graves was going to win. Graves was named state player of the year by Gatorade.

After consulting with a variety of coaches, The Tennessean is naming Barbee player of the year for the third consecutive season.

“I don’t think we’ve competed against anybody quite like her,” said Mt. Juliet Coach Chris Fryer, whose team lost three times to Riverdale — including in the state quarterfinals — and once to Clarksville this season.

“She’s extremely physical, and she’s so strong. She’s just hard to deal with. But the thing that separates her is how smart she is. She knows the game, she has a high basketball IQ and she makes the plays that win games for her team.”

That innate feel for the game allowed 5-foot-11 Barbee to concentrate on getting her teammates more involved, while leading the Lady Warriors to their second state title in three seasons.

“It makes everything go better and run more smoothly when I’m getting my teammates into it,” said Barbee, who had a team-leading 4.2 assists per game. “I feed off what they’re doing, and I think they feed off my passes and my defensive intensity. I like to make my teammates better.”

Barbee averaged 15 points, down from 17.2 as a junior and 18 as a sophomore. But her team and her coach knew she was their best option in game-deciding situations.

“She’s a kid (that) you want the ball in her hands come crunch time,” Riverdale Coach John Wild said. “Whenever we needed a basket, that’s who we went to. She just thrives in big moments.

“She’s going to excel when the game is on the line, when the trophy is at stake. I’ve never known her to fail in a moment like that.”

Barbee admitted to having a comfort level in late-game scenarios.

“I feel like I can put my team on my back and just go with it,” she said. “I like the challenge of the end of the game, being the ‘go-to.’ At that point in the game, even when there is pressure, I feel like there’s no pressure.”

It wasn’t just in big moments, but in big games, that Barbee took things up a notch. This season, she raised her scoring average by more than three points during her three state tournament games.

“I think it comes from a confidence level,” Wild said. “Being put in tough situations as a player at a very young age has created an air that she can do it, she’s going to attack it and get through. She’s got a lot of confidence and she’s never shy in those moments.

“I’m lucky to have had her, as an assistant for a year and as head coach for two,” said Wild. “She’s certainly made my job a lot easier.”